The Other 23 & a Half Hours: Or Everything You Wanted to Know that Your MFA Didn’t Teach You

May 2015
210 pages | ISBN 9781928088004
$20.00

There’s so much more to being a poet than starving in a garret.

It might be counterintuitive, but Catherine Owen believes being a writer involves much more than writing. In this provocative book she examines the moving parts of the literary community and explains what makes it tick. Starting with reading, which Owen believes is a fundamental part of being a writer, she considers activities such as reviewing, translating, hosting radio shows and even running small presses. With over sixty interviews as well as her own experiences to draw on, Owen sketches a compelling picture of what a literary life can be. Readers will come away with a new appreciation for the dynamism of the Canadian literary scene and the inspiration to contribute to it.

Reviews

Review (Leslie Timmins, Events: Poetry and Prose, Fall 2016 Issue)
"…it's immensely refreshing that she subverts the discourse about the status of poetry as a popular culture failure and celebrates the possibilties inherit in broadening and hybridizing the poet's practice."

Review (David Eso, The Bull Calf, 02/16/2016) “The book offers no program for a career in poetry, making the title a somewhat tongue-in-cheek jab at professionalized poetry. At the Victoria, BC event in promotion of her book, in July of this year, Owen told the audience that the book grew out of her frustration with the pressure young poets feel to enter academia.”

Review (Mary Ann Moore, Story Circle Book Review, 02/13/2016) “Owen approaches her subject with passion, expertly weaving interviews with fifty-eight Canadian poets and a host of other American and international writers into a well-informed book.”